Our headline poet this month is Alan Gillis. Alan is a poet and critic, and is editor of Edinburgh Review. His most recent poetry collection is Here Comes the Night (2010), and he is currently completing its follow-up. His first collection, Somebody, Somewhere (2004), was shortlisted for the Irish Times Poetry Now Award, and won The Strong Award for best first collection in Ireland. His second, Hawks and Doves (2007), was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize. He is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and The Queen’s University of Belfast, and was previously Lecturer in Irish Literature at The University of Ulster, and Research Fellow at The Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at The Queen’s University of Belfast.

It’s April this month, so that, of course, means that it’s time for our popular Open Night. We have a host of wonderful poets lined up to read their work, and we’re really excited to hear what they bring to the mic. As always, we’ve had a lot of interest, so all the slots are full, but there is the small possibility that one of our poets won’t be able to make it… so, come along with a poem in your pocket!

Because it’s Open Night this month, there’ll be no Shore Poets Wildcard slot. That’ll be back in May. But as always, we’ll have beautiful music from Becky Leach, Mairi McFadyen and Fiona Robinson. We very much hope you’ll join us!